Special Tools of the Case Mod World Series

April 19, 2017

This year’s Case Mod World Series has brought together almost 200 competitors from around the world to push their PC building skills to the limits. Seasoned veterans and fresh faced beginners are putting it all on the line to take home a piece of that $45,000 in cash and prizes.

One of the greatest things about the Case Mod World Series is the various new modding innovations shown off by the participants. Entirely new processes and products that are now standard to modding culture and the PC industry at large were first introduced in past years of the competition.

When most people think about modding they picture a very specific set of tools such as screw drivers, power drills, and Dremel cutting tools. But this year, and in years past, modders have gone well above and beyond simply tools like these to create their builds. Here are just some of the specialized tools we’ve seen used in this year’s competition.

Technically this is probably a CNC machine, but in this case it is being used for milling, which is the process of feeding a material, usually wood, towards a rotating cutting tool for the purpose of shaping edges. Milling machines have existed since at least the 1800’s and now they’re used for building PC’s.

Why use your hands to cut things when you can use lasers? Probably because it’s pretty expensive. Laser cutters are the best way to make the most intricate and precise cuts, but they only really work properly on flat surfaces with exact measurements. Modding with these is usually the start of a process that will have many more steps after the laser cutting is done.

3D printers are becoming more and more common household items. With some 3D modeling experience and enough time for printing, you can create any type of object of whatever shape and size you want for the perfect mod accessories.

In a lot of ways the angle grinder is what Dremel was before it was cool. A multipurpose tool that can cut, grind, polish, and sand. Commonly used in carpentry, metal working, and construction this tool seems like a must for any next level modder.

Regular drill bits are used to make regular sized holes. But when you need a much bigger hole your easiest bet is the spade bit. The one problem with them is that they don’t make threaded holes the way normal drill bits do so you need a threader to manually add threads to spade bit holes. This is an especially difficult process to do with metal like we see here.

Sometimes you just need to cut things in half. Very few things do this as easily as a sabre saw. A reciprocating toothed blade can do wonders on wood and softer metals. Before these you were stuck manually cutting with a hacksaw.

Essentially the old school laser cutter. The stationary jigsaw allows for much more controlled cutting by feeding wood towards the blade with a pattern of cuts in mind. Many people prefer the hand jig saw because it gives you more control, but it’s also much less stable and not as reliable for thicker pieces of wood.

These are just some of the specialized tools and amazing projects in the Case Mod World Series this year. See all the projects in the official CMWS 2017 forum.

Do you use any special tools for your modding or PC building? Let us know in the comments.

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It is a portal that calls to all makers whose PC is their creative medium. This platform offers a new level of interaction and potential partnership between this growing community of VR, Robotics, 3D printing, Modding, and Gaming, etc. and Cooler Master.

We are creating a space that allows others to learn, collaborate and, potentially, develop their business. Our highly successful case mod contest has already exposed many talented people and brought them together. Now we’re expanding that reach by connecting all Makers. These are passionate people who put time and care into their creations. We want to share their dreams and their products to the world.